A Day for Savoring Bad Moods
by Leona Cazadora
Summary: What happened after the flag raising? Did Logan and Max get back together? How did OC & Sketchy get out of TC? Did Mole and the others really stay? Takes place after last episode of cannon. This is a re-post b/c I figured out to do chapters.
1. Rotgut is Good for the Soul

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and the plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made by the author from this story.

**A Day for Savoring Bad Moods**

One – Rotgut Is Good for the Soul 

It was raining, which wasn't a huge surprise considering he was in Seattle and all, but this wasn't just normal rain. This was the torrential kind of sheeting rain that came with bone penetrating cold and a gunpowder gray sky for as far as the eye – even the transgenic eye – could see. Days like this let you savor a bad mood, which was just fine with Alec because he was in a true feline funk. He couldn't remember feeling this pissed off, put out, depressed, and hopeless since – well he didn't want to think about the last time he'd felt this badly. So instead he was sitting in the craphole that passed as his new apartment in Terminal City attempting to drink himself into a stupor with some of Mole's homemade rotgut.

_Flashback_

"_So what's the matter Princess, couldn't satisfy her highness and she went running back to the Ordinary?" Mole taunted Alec as they filed back into headquarters after Joshua's mid-morning flag raising._

"_Shut it Mole." Alec growled._

"_Don't think so Princess. We all saw her holding the Ordinary's hand on the roof, and we need to know who her highness is going to be turning to for help running this toxic waste dump – you or the overgrown monkey. So what's the deal?" Mole pushed._

"_What does it matter who Max is with? She's in charge here, and I'm around to help out either way." Alec replied, trying to pacify Mole's concern about his involvement in TC affairs without making himself look like anymore of a chump. Fuck Max and her stupid lie getting him into this shit._

"_Not good enough Princess. The way I see it either Max is with you which means you're second in command or she's with the Ordinary which means he's going to be running roughshod through our business. I was on board with staying and making a stand when I thought the ship would be in 494's hands, but I'm not about to let some piece of shit ordinary make decisions for me – that ain't ever fucking happening again. So you need to tell me what the fuck the deal is before it's too late for me to get the hell out of this hole if I need to." And that was it; Mole had thrown down the proverbial gauntlet. _

_As he thought about how to answer, Alec was acutely aware of every eye in headquarters now being on him. He didn't want to out Max and her little secret, but Mole was right, they deserved to know the truth before they decided whether to stay in TC or make a run for it. _

"_I was never with Max," Alec began in a slightly defeated tone. "She asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend to push Logan away because he wouldn't take a hint and she couldn't be around him anymore with the virus and everything. I don't know what that little handholding business on the roof was, if it means she wants to be with him again or what. All I know is that you're right, regardless of Max's relationship with Logan no ordinary is ever making decisions for us again. If Max can't put her issues with Logan aside long enough to run TC effectively, then I'll take over command. Satisfied?"_

"_Very." Shit that was Logan's voice. As Alec turned to see Logan standing in the stairwell, he could hear murmurs of assent from around him and knew that at least the other transgenics were happy with his response even if Logan – and Max, by extension – weren't. What was that ordinary expression, out of the frying pan and into the fire, well if this didn't qualify he wasn't sure what would. Before Alec could begin explaining himself, Logan had already turned to head back up to the roof where Alec could only assume Max still was. Alec turned to leave. If the fight between him and Max was going to be as bad as he figured, he didn't want it to be in front of everyone at HQ. He didn't want it to be at his apartment either. It may be a craphole, but it was still his craphole and he didn't want it anymore broken than it already was. So Alec headed to the only place he could think of, the makeshift TC gym, to wait for Max's wrath._

What does Mole put in this shit? Alec thought with a grimace as a particularly big gulp of the rotgut burned its way down his throat. At least the burn temporarily distracted him from the pain of his aching balls, swollen black eye, two severely bruised ribs and recently dislocated shoulder. Fucking Max and her fucking ordinary. Alec scowled at the thought of Max and Logan as he took another long swig from the almost empty bottle, getting up off of his dilapidated sofa to retrieve a second from the kitchen. Yeah, Alec was definitely going to savor this bad mood as long as the day would let him.

_Max hadn't found him for a few hours. It was well into the afternoon and a thunderstorm had rolled in by the time she pounded into the gym. Alec had long ago chased everyone out of the place, and had managed to brood himself into a dark state of mind. That was how she found him, sitting on the floor, head back against the wall, eyes closed, breathing in rhythm with the steady pattering of raindrops. He heard her coming, heard the door crash open as she practically threw it out of her way, but he didn't open his eyes, didn't acknowledge her, would wait for her to set the pace, just like he always did. _

He fucking hated her, Alec thought darkly. But there in the back of his mind, was a voice telling him that he didn't really, and that was half the problem he thought, as he took another long pull off his second bottle of rotgut. He was actually starting to feel slightly buzzed. After he was out of his funk, he'd have to remember to congratulate Mole on brewing something that could affect an X5.


	2. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Two – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

It was raining, again. She hated the rain. I should have just left Seattle like Zack wanted me to, gone somewhere warm and sunny where it doesn't fucking rain all the time, then I wouldn't be in this fucking mess, Max thought as she stared out at the dark thunderheads looming over the Space Needle. It was only early evening but the sky was practically pitch black, lit only by the occasional arc of electricity shooting through the charged atmosphere. Ominous, she thought as she looked down at the rain soaked city from her perch just inside the Needle's observation windows. Yeah, days like this let you savor a bad mood.

_Flashback_

"_Logan, we need to talk." Max said as everyone else began filing down the stairs after the flag raising. _

"_Max, I know I shouldn't say anything because you're with Alec now, but I still love you and I'm prepared to fight to keep us together." Logan determinedly stated before Max could begin._

_Shit, Max thought, why can't he just let go? Pulling her hand from his, Max steeled herself and turned to face him. "I'm not with Alec, Logan."_

"_What?" He asked, confusion and hope both evident in his eyes._

"_I needed you to realize we couldn't be together anymore, and you wouldn't, so when you saw Alec leaving my place and asked if we were together it seemed like an easy way to get you to back off. Alec went along with it for me, but we were never really together."_

"_So it was all a lie. A lie to protect me, because you still love me, and you were never with Alec. You never slept with him?" Logan asked in a rush and tumble of words, hope now running rampant through the tenor in his voice._

"_What? What does it matter if I ever slept with him?" Max, replied incredulously._

"_Wait, you didn't, did you?" A slight tremor entered Logan's voice, as he feared for the purity of his Max._

_Perturbed at the turn their conversation had taken, Max decided to just rip the band-aid off and get this bitch over with. "No, Logan I never slept with Alec. Yes, my being with Alec was a lie to protect you. Yes, I lied because I do care about you, and I don't want you to die, but no, I don't love you Logan. Not romantically, anyway. I thought for a long time that I did, but it's been so long since we were even close to being like that, I'm just not sure those feelings are there anymore. I'm sorry." Max took a deep breath after rushing out all the words she needed Logan to hear, and surprisingly as she breathed in her chest felt less tight than she could remember it being in a long time._

_Logan's jaw was open, but no words would leave his mouth, as his mind rushed to catch up with the import of Max's words. He'd been so sure after she'd let him hold her hand that they were back to being together, that their relationship was back on course, he couldn't quite process this about face. "But Max, you can't. . . I mean I don't understand. . .I love you," he finally managed to sputter out._

"_Logan, I'm sorry. Whatever there was between us never went anywhere, and we just have to accept the fact that it's too late for it to go anywhere now." Max said resolutely. She'd known when she planned out telling him the truth that he would argue with her, so she'd spent the morning mentally preparing herself to stand her ground. She even managed not to flinch when his lower lip began to tremble._

"_But Max, I love you, and the virus is only a temporary road block, you know that I'm still working on finding us a cure. As soon as we do, Max, we'll be able to let our relationship grow." The tone running rampant through Logan's voice was no longer hope, but desperation as he grasped at keeping Max in his life. _

"_No, Logan. You need to realize that this virus is most likely not going anywhere. And even if it does, we're going to be in different worlds from now on. You've got to go back out there and keep on beings Eyes Only, and I've got to stay in here and fight for my family. I'm sorry, Logan, but whatever chance we had is passed. I'll always care for you, and I'll always have your back, but right now I need you to let me go so I can take care of things here." Max was proud that none of her pain bled through in her voice; she managed to present a cool, calm face to Logan as she dumped him for good._

_Seeing the strong set to Max's jaw and the determination in her beautiful face, Logan realized he'd lost her. Letting tears soundlessly slip down his cheeks, he bowed his head and nodded his silent assent to Max's wishes._

_Clenching her fist at the site of his tears, Max steeled herself to deliver the last blow. "Alright, why don't you head downstairs and find OC and Sketchy, and I'll be down in a few minutes to get you guys out of here before the toxins start making you sick."_

_Jesus, talk about kicking a man when he's down. Dumped and thrown out, Logan wasn't sure he could handle this much agony, sharp stabbing pains were running through his chest and he could barely breathe. But for her he would try to be strong, so he just nodded again, wiped his sleeve across his face, and turned to head down the stairs. Max watched him head through the stairwell door, and turned back to stare out at her new home, their new home, Terminal City, her own little Freak Nation._

Everything was fixed, Logan was finally going to let me go so I could move on, but no, Alec had to go and screw everything up as usual, I fucking hate him, Max thought darkly. But on the heels of that thought, came a traitorous voice telling her that she didn't really hate him, and that was half the problem. Pissed off, put out, depressed, and hopeless, she turned to head back to the bottles of bourbon waiting for her on the floor of the observation deck. As much as she hated the rain, Max was glad for the weather today – she needed to savor this bad mood.


	3. Unraveling Threads

Three – Unraveling Threads

Upon hearing Alec's confession, Logan had marched straight back up the stairs to Max, a fevered determination shining anew in his eyes. He found her standing near the edge of the roof gazing out over Terminal City, her long hair shifting in the wind around her thin frame. He stopped for a moment to admire her beauty before gathering up his tattered pride and heading back into the fray.

"Max, I know what we just talked about, but I just overheard something downstairs that changes things." Logan began.

When she first heard footsteps heading up to the roof, she assumed it was Alec coming to check on her. He always seemed to do that. But then she heard the exoskeleton and knew it was Logan. She heard him exit the stairwell onto the roof and took a moment to re-gather her determination around her before turning to face him.

"Logan, what are you talking about?" She really did try to keep the exasperation out of her voice, but she could tell that some of it must have bled through by the startled, hurt look on Logan's face. Why couldn't he just let go?

He recovered quickly, though, and began explaining himself. "Max, I just heard Alec telling everyone in HQ that he was planning on taking over command of TC from you." Okay, so that wasn't entirely true, but close enough, Logan thought.

Shocked, Max didn't respond immediately, giving Logan the opportunity to continue. "Now I know you said you don't feel romantically for me, and I respect that, but just like you Max, I still care about you and I'm always going to have your back. And that's what you need here right now, is someone to have your back. You can't trust them, Max. You need someone here who can help you make the difficult decisions. I'm not leaving, Max, you need me here."

Logan was pleased that his voice hadn't wavered, and he'd managed to deliver his declaration with resolve. He was a little worried, though, at the range of emotions playing across Max's face, none of which seemed anywhere close to happy about having him be there for her.

Finally, her face stuck in a comic mask of incredulity; Max's voice came out as barely less than a screech, "Alec said what?"

While Logan was busy back pedaling the conversation in his head, Max went on. "You must have misheard or misunderstood, he wouldn't have said he was going to take over command. He doesn't want to be in charge, hell I'd be surprised if he even sticks around for very long. He . . ."

Having finally gotten his mind rewound, Logan cut her off. "Max, I didn't mishear or misunderstand. Alec clearly told Mole and everyone else in HQ that he would take over command from you. And I'm not leaving you here alone with that happy go lucky sociopath scheming behind your back."

In the space of thirty seconds, Max had gone from incredulous to enraged. She'd finally gotten Logan on the path to "goodbye for good" and Alec had to go and pull a stunt like this making Logan think he had to stay and protect her from the big bad transgenics. Well, she had a news flash for Logan, she could fucking well take care of herself, and she would deal with Alec swiftly and severely, just as soon as she dumped Logan again.

Trying to bank her anger at Alec and not direct it at Logan, Max took a deep breath to steady herself before kicking Logan out of Terminal City, again. "Logan, look, I appreciate you wanting to have my back, but you can't stay. It's only a matter of time before the toxins make you sick. Besides I can more than handle Alec on my own."

"Max, I don't think you understand, it wasn't just Alec, the rest of them were all nodding and agreeing when he said it. They're all plotting against you. You're not like them, Max. You've been out in the world, free and learning to be human for so long, but they're all still mostly instinct governed soldiers, Max. You need someone here to help you take control of the situation and make the decisions for the transgenics that they won't be able to make for themselves."

Logan's voice had taken on a sort of long-suffering superior tone she immediately recognized as the same tone of voice he used whenever he explained an Eye's Only job to her, when he explained why it was important to take down a particular bad guy. And suddenly Max realized with horrible clarity just exactly how Logan saw her. He'd just basically called her family a bunch of animals and was treating her like a child who was barely above them. Her stomach roiled sickeningly and it was all she could do to stay standing as her vision momentarily blurred with the pain of the realization. Logan had only ever loved her like a possession, not a person. He didn't even think she was human, she'd had to "learn to be human."

Max was still rocking from the realization as she looked up into Logan's eyes only to see the possessiveness she had so often mistaken as love and felt a fresh surge of pain slice through her. She was beyond the point of caring whether she re-dumped Logan gently or not, and was desperate to get as far away from him as possible. In a deathly quiet voice that belied the throbbing ache in her chest, Max said "I am just like them Logan, I am a transgenic, and I don't need an ordinary to help me make any kind of decisions, least of all decisions about the fate of my transgenic family. Now, you need to leave Terminal City before the toxins make you sick, or I infect you with the virus, or one of my "instinct governed soldier" brothers or sisters can't control themselves and kills you. I don't need and I don't want **your** help."

Oblivious to the razor thin grasp Max was maintaining on her control, Logan turned his tone to paternalistic. "Now, Max you don't really mean that, you're just upset over Alec and the others plotting against you. I'll just go find myself some quarters and give you some time to calm down. We can talk more this evening when we have dinner."

Unable to believe that Logan still didn't get it, Max knew that if she didn't get away from him soon she'd end up killing him. Exasperated out of her mind, she screamed at the unrelenting ordinary "FINE, STAY, DIE, SEE IF I FUCKING CARE!" Then with a shriek of frustration that would have rivaled a howler monkey, Max stormed off the roof and down the stairs into HQ.


	4. Lizard Man Intermeidary & Farewells

Four – Lizard Man Intermediaries and Intervening Farewells

Max was so intent on finding Alec and shredding him to pieces that she ran right into OC and Sketchy at the bottom of the stairs. "Wow, Boo what's got your panties all in a twist?" OC quipped as she held Max's arm to right herself after being run over.

At the sight of the concern in her friend's eyes, some of the red haze of Max's fury began to dissipate. "Sorry, OC, just dealing with shit ya' know."

"S'alirght. How 'bout you fill a sistah in while you escort this fool's and my fine ass outta' here?"

"Yeah, that sounds good just uh. . . give me a minute," Max said as her eyes scanned HQ. Alec wasn't there, but she could see Mole and he was unabashedly staring at her, so she figured he must know what the hell was going on. He'd have to do. Max needed to know what had been said before she left to escort OC and Sketcy home; she needed to know whether or not she was going to be walking back into a full blown mutiny. "Mole, catwalk now," Max barked as she made her way to the metal walkway above HQ where she could get some semblance of privacy for this conversation.

"You bellowed your highness," the giant lizard man quipped as he joined her on the precarious perch.

"Look, I've got a lot of shit to get done today and I don't have time to pussyfoot around this, so I need you to tell me straight up whether Alec's planning on taking over command," Max said, her eyes blazing with barely reserved fury.

"Only if necessary," was Mole's curt reply, as he chewed his ever present cigar and contemplated the tiny yet forceful woman before him.

"What the hell does that mean?" Max demanded.

"It means none of us want to have our decisions made by ordinaries anymore, and we're not entirely sure whether you're transgenic enough to do the job without them. So Alec agreed that if you started to go down that road, he'd relieve you of command." Mole said all this with absolute calm, an almost carefree tone even, as if he weren't telling his commanding officer straight to her face that he'd been part of the plan to mutiny against her if they didn't like the direction her leadership was taking.

Before she could help herself, Max brought her fist up and had it half way to connecting with Mole's head before he caught it. "I'm not Princess," was all he said with a lift of what Max guessed must pass for a lizard eyebrow before releasing her fist. Gripping the rail on the catwalk until her knuckles turned white, Max struggled to bite back her anger enough to finish her conversation. "You mean Logan. Alec said he would take over command if I started letting Logan influence the decisions I made about how TC gets run?"

"That's right. None of us wants to be told what to do by ordinaries anymore, so Alec assured us that he wouldn't let that happen." Mole replied, his voice still calm, though he had backed up a few steps from the practically seething volcano in front of him.

"I see. And what if Logan wasn't an issue, what was Alec planning on doing then?"

"As far as Princess and the rest of us are concerned the show is all yours unless you try to hand the reigns over to the monkey." With that parting statement, Mole turned and walked back down off the catwalk, leaving Max to contemplate the situation. So it wasn't a full blown mutiny, Max had been right Alec didn't really want her command, but he would take it if he felt he had to. Alright, so the situation wasn't anywhere nearly as dire as Logan had tried to make it sound, but Alec had still fucked up her finally successful dumping of Logan, and she was going to kick his ass for that. First, though she had to get OC and Sketchy out of TC while she still could.

Making her way back over to her friends, Max smoothed her Manticore mask into place. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah, but what about Logan? Don't we need to wait for him to go too?" Sketchy asked.

And just like that Max's mask slipped. "No. Now let's go." Was all she managed to get out through clenched teeth as she turned to lead the way out of HQ.

"Boo, what's up wit' you an' your man?" OC queried as she followed behind Max to the sewer entrance.

"He's not my man. I told him it's over for good, but he's refusing to leave TC."

"Well, whatcha gonna' do about it?"

"I don't know yet; I'll figure it out when I get back. For now let's just worry about getting you guys home." Max replied as she reached down to lift the cover off the sewer entrance and help OC and Sketchy down into the tunnels.

Not much else was said on the trek, as OC and Sketchy did their best to follow Max silently through the sewers to avoid detection by anyone who might be looking for transgenics down there.

When they reached the sewer exit nearest to Max and OC's apartment, Max pulled herself up to the entrance and listened through the grate for sounds of movement on the street above. Once everything was quiet, she slowly pulled the grate back and cautiously peaked out to check for surveillance of the area. Either White had been too stupid to ask Normal where the transgenics he'd been employing lived, or a few days of turning up nothing after the Jam Pony siege had led to surveillance of her apartment being abandoned. Whichever was the case, Max was grateful for the lack of complications for once as she jumped up from the sewer and reached back in to give OC and Sketchy a hand.

Once the grate was back in place, Max turned to say goodbye to her friends. "You gonna' be okay getting back to your place Sketch?"

"Yeah, Max, don't worry about me. You take care of yourself, and Max you know if you need anything. . ."

"Yeah, I know Sketch. Thanks," Max said hugging Sketchy quickly to stem the tears she could feel threatening to break free. Watching him walk away for a moment while she composed herself, Max finally turned to OC.

"Now, I know you ain't about to try and fawn Original Cindy off with some lame ass quick hug like you just did that fool. Girl you coming upstairs for a proper goodbye, and OC gonna' help you pack up some o' your shit to take back to your new place wit' ya."

Max thought about arguing that it was too dangerous for her to spend anymore time here, but OC's lifted eyebrow and the tilt to her hip told Max there'd be no dissuading her boo. Besides, OC was right, it would be good to grab some of her stuff since it looked like she was about to be in TC for a while. So linking her arm through OC's she headed up the stairs.

"Boo, ya' gonna' spill out the troubles that got your head spinning earlier; let OC throw some wisdom down on ya' before you go?"

So while they packed up her things, Max gave OC the abridged version of how she'd finally broken up with Logan for good, only to have Alec screw everything up by saying that he'd take command over from her if she let Logan have a say in TC affairs.

"Well, Boo, it sounds to me like as unpleasant as it's gonna' be, you gonna' have to drag Logan outta TC kicking and screaming. As for ya' boy, I know you're mad, but remember he only said what he had to so everyone would stick around wit' ya'. Try not to be too hard on him, because Original Cindy be thinkin' you're gonna' need his help wit' you're new dealio."

"Yeah, we'll see I guess. Looks like that's the last of my stuff," was Max's typically noncommittal reply as she zipped up one of her duffels. Placing the bag on the floor next to the one OC had just zipped up, Max turned to her best friend with barely concealed tears in her eyes. "I'm gonna' miss you."

"I'm gonna' miss you too, but you know this ain't gonna' be the last you see of OC. You ain't getting rid of me that easily," OC said embracing Max tightly.

Smiling at OC's attempt to lighten the mood, Max pulled back and picked up her bags. Turning when she got to the door of the apartment she took a moment to memorize OC's face. Letting a few of the persistent tears fall, she whispered back "Thanks for everything, OC" and headed out the door.


	5. Pain Will Wash Away Your Sorrow

Five – Pain Will Wash Away Your Sorrow

Max made it back to TC through the sewers just before the storm let loose. She managed to duck into headquarters just as the first few fat drops of rain fell from the dark clouds that had steadily gathered in the late afternoon sky.

Max was aware of every eye in HQ following her progress up to the platform where Dix and Luke were busy monitoring TC's few security cameras and the local news stations for updates on their situation. Wanting to make it clear to everyone that she was definitely in this thing for the long haul, she spoke in a louder than necessary voice as she asked Dix "hey you got a place for me to crash yet?"

"Yeah, Max. Logan was down here earlier asking for a place where you guys could get set up together, so we put you in a two bedroom in one of the more stable buildings just off of Oak Street." Dix carefully replied, hopeful that his answer wouldn't upset the volatile X5.

Wanting to avoid biting Dix's head off for Logan's bullshit, Max closed her eyes and took a moment before responding. "Tonight will be Logan's last night in TC, Dix, so you can re-assign that apartment to someone who needs that much space tomorrow. And I'll just crash in the vacant office upstairs here until you can find me a smaller place."

"Sure thing, Max. I'll find you something as soon as I can. And you're sure about reassigning Logan's place?" Dix's voice trembled a bit on the last part of the question, not wanting to push Max but needing to know whether the apartment was truly going to be empty or not.

Turning slightly to face more of HQ and the eyes riveted on her throughout, Max made sure her voice was firm as she responded. "Yeah, Dix I'm positive. Logan will be gone tomorrow and he won't be coming back."

With that she turned to head up to the vacant room that would serve as her command office and temporary living quarters. Half way up the stairs, she turned back to ask the question that was the whole reason she'd come into HQ in the first place. "Oh, hey, Dix, do you know where Alec is? There's something I need to talk to him about." Max was pleased that her voice projected a calmness she definitely did not feel at the moment as furious thoughts about the male X5 roiled through her mind.

"Uh . . ." Dix hesitated in answering Max, unsure of whether he should rat Alec out for what he was sure would be an epic fight.

"Princess is over in the gym," Mole piped up, saving Dix from making the decision. Mole figured the sooner Max and Alec got their fight out of the way, the sooner they could all move on with trying not to get killed in TC.

"Thanks," Max threw over her shoulder as she resumed her walk up the stairs and headed into her office. Shutting the door behind her, she set her bags down on the dilapidated desk and took a few moments to collect herself before heading out to find him.

Breathing deeply, Max thought about what OC had said to her before she'd left the apartment. _"Remember he only said what he had to so everyone would stick around wit' ya'."_ That may be true, but it didn't change the fact that he had threatened a mutiny against her, and had been stupid enough to do it in front of Logan ensuring that he would refuse to accept Max's decision to end things with him for good. Yeah, she was definitely going to have to kick Alec's ass to show everyone she wasn't to be messed with, it was just a matter of how badly she had to beat him.

Pulling herself out of her head, Max found a pair of loose fitting yoga pants and a tank top with a built in sports bra in her bags and got changed. She then did a quick kata to limber herself up, pulled her hair up into a ponytail, and headed out to find Alec.

The storm was in full swing now, and by the time she reached the gym Max was soaked through, which only served to help ramp up the fury that had been simmering beneath the surface back into full blown rage by the time she reached the doors. Slamming them open, she pounded into the gym, and turned to find Alec, head resting against the wall, knees drawn up almost to his chest, eyes closed, sitting on the floor of the gym. His lack of response to her presence made her pause for only a moment before she began verbally tearing into him.

"ALEC, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? Did you think it would be funny to announce a fucking mutiny in front of Logan? Did you think hey "how can I screw up Max's attempt to finally get Logan to let the fuck go" huh?"

"What?" Alec asked from his still seated position on the floor; confusion evident in his now open eyes. Her being pissed about the "mutiny" he'd expected, but the accusation about screwing things up with Logan came at him out of left field.

"That's right, I had kept Logan behind on the roof so I could tell him the truth about you and I not being together and finally tell him that it was over for real, and then you had to go and pull that idiotic stunt. Now he's refusing to leave TC because he's worried about me being here all alone with all the scheming mutinous transgenics." Max punctuated her last sentence with a kick to Alec's thigh.

She'd meant the move to get Alec up off the floor, but Max was surprised at the speed with which he went from seated to being directly in front of her, his hands wrapped around her arms.

"Max, I'm sorry I screwed things up for you with Logan, but trust me when I tell you I'm not in the mood for your blame games right now."

Momentarily stricken by the coldness in Alec's eyes, Max thought that perhaps she should reconsider her plan to kick Alec's ass. As quickly as her hesitation had come, though, it left, and she was spurred on by the knowledge that the rest of TC would be keenly aware of how she handled this situation. With her moment of indecision gone, Max brought her knee up into Alec's stomach with as much force as possible while simultaneously wrenching her arms free of his grip.

Alec stayed doubled over for only a few seconds, and then he was a blur of movement as he aimed a roundhouse kick for Max's side. Spinning out of the way of the kick, Max aimed her own blow and swept Alec's stationary leg out from under him. Alec managed to grab Max's ankle as he fell, however, pinning her right leg beneath his torso as he fell. Max felt her ankle twist, but it didn't snap.

Kipping back up onto his feet, Alec immediately aimed his boot for Max's ribs. Rolling out of the way, Max managed to avoid the brunt of the kick, but there would still be bruising from where the tip of Alec's boot had connected with her side.

When Alec's second kick came, Max grabbed his calf and used the leverage to toss him off balance, giving herself time to get back to her feet. That was about all she had time for, though, before Alec righted himself and was coming at her again. She managed to block his right hook, but his left slipped through and she could taste the coppery tang of blood from her newly split lip.

The sight of her blood seemed to momentarily stun Alec, because he paused a few steps back from her giving her the opening she needed to mount her own attack. Max moved into a rapid fire series of kicks and punches. Alec managed to block most of her blows, but by the end of her volley he was sporting the beginnings of a shiner and probably a few bruised ribs of his own.

Winded and needing to rest her ankle, Max eased up off Alec and moved into a defensive stance. "You had enough yet, pretty boy?" she taunted him.

"I'm just getting started, bitch" was Alec's cold reply as he launched into his own series of offensive maneuvers. Max did her best to block Alec's blows, but her twisted ankle was hampering her ability to dodge. After several minutes, Alec had managed to land a blow to Max's already bruised ribs, and now had her too close to the wall for comfort. Needing space to maneuver in, as Max blocked Alec's next punch she wrapped her hands around his forearm and attempted to swing him around to reverse their positions. To Max's dismay, however, as soon as she latched her hands around him Alec twisted his arm up, pulling her close to him and then used his greater bulk to slam her into the wall.

Max could feel blood dripping down into her eye from where the wall had split the skin over one of her brow bones. Struggling in Alec's hold, she bit her tongue on the whimper that threatened to come out of her mouth as Alec twisted her arms more firmly behind her. Leaning into her back, Max could feel his ragged breaths on her neck as he spoke into her ear. "I told you I wasn't in the mood, Maxie."

Done with being dominated, Max took advantage of Alec's closeness and slammed her head back into his face. He dodged quickly enough to avoid a broken nose, but she had caught him hard enough in the chin that he was also now sporting a split lip. Unlike Alec when he'd seen her blood, Max didn't pause for even a second at the sight of his. Spinning herself out of his grasp, she took advantage of his temporary daze and planted her boot firmly in his solar plexus, slamming him back into the wall she'd just been pinned against. Alec hit the wall at an angle, his shoulder taking the brunt of the hit with a sickening crunch.

"I don't give a shit what you're in the mood for, Alec. When will you get it through your arrogant head that you can't just go around fucking things up for everyone else? What gives you the fucking right to decide that my relationship with Logan somehow makes me less of a transgenic, huh?" Each of Max's verbal spars had been accompanied by a series of kicks and punches that had Alec struggling to get himself off the wall after using it to pop his dislocated shoulder back into place.

Finally, Alec managed to latch onto Max's leg as she made another pass at his ribs. Swinging her around he used the leverage to pull himself away from the wall and toss Max across the room. Advancing on her, he began his own verbal tirade. "What gives you the right Max to decide anything for any of us? First you took away our home, now you've got us all locked up in this fucking toxic waste dump, and you expect us to stand by while you're next move is to turn the reins over to some fucking ordinary. I don't fucking think so Maxie."

While Alec had advanced, Max had barely managed to get back to her feet. She was fairly certain that she had broken her tailbone when she landed. Belatedly realizing that Alec must have been holding back with her every other time they'd fought, Max knew she had to find a way to end things quickly before she took too much more damage. Allowing Alec to herd her toward the opposite wall she waited for her opening. Just as her back hit the wall and Alec moved to pin her, Max blurred her arm out, got her hand between his legs, and crushed his balls with only slightly less than all her strength.

Max winced at Alec's anguished cry. It had been a dirty move, but she hadn't been prepared to lose to Alec. As he slumped to the floor, Max delivered her last blow. "You don't want me and my ordinary, you don't like the decisions I make, you miss mommy Manticore so fucking much, then fine, you can have your little mutiny and take command. See if I give a shit. I'm done with you."

Taking in gasping breaths as he struggled to get the pain under control, Alec barely managed to whisper "I don't want command," before further speech became impossible.

Not bothering to respond, Max limped out of the gym leaving Alec on the floor. Lying there, Alec cursed himself for not being more alert to that kind of dirty move, especially after the cage fighting incident. Even though tonight he'd not held back as much as he usually did with her, he'd still held back enough that she was able to win. Alec didn't know why he couldn't stand the thought of truly hurting her, why his gut had clenched when her lip had split open and her blood spilled out, couldn't for the life of him explain why he'd felt the need to assure her that he didn't really want her command even as she left him lying in agony. Not really wanting to examine why too closely, either, Alec finally managed to pick himself up off the floor and hobbled out the doors several minutes after Max.

Soaked through from the storm, Alec finally reached his apartment and found three bottles of Mole's homemade rotgut sitting in the doorway with a note: "For Princess." Snorting at Mole's sense of humor, Alec picked up the bottles and made his way into the apartment. Tonight he was going to dry himself off and then drink himself into a stupor. Tomorrow he'd head down to command and start figuring out how in the hell they were all going to make it in this toxic waste dump.


	6. Monsoon Perspective

Six – Monsoon Perspective

Max knew she shouldn't leave TC in her condition, but she needed some distance, some space, she needed the Space Needle. Making her way slowly through the sewers, Max decided she also needed something to take the edge off the burning agony that her ankle had become. Detouring slightly, she popped out of the sewers in a dark alley near a bar she'd made deliveries to a few times that's in the same sector as the Needle. Creeping her way toward the bar, Max prayed to the blue lady that the door to the back store room would be open as she'd seen it on other occasions.

It seemed it wasn't too much for Max to ask for, as she reached the alley where the bar was and finds that, yes, the store room door was open and blessedly unattended. Quickly swiping as many bottles of bourbon as she could carry, Max made her way back out into the storm. Deciding that hobbling to the Needle on her bad ankle in a torrential downpour was not her idea of fun, Max spotted an El Camino that looked like it might run, not that far from the alley entrance. Checking her surroundings, she put her elbow through the passenger window and made short work of hotwiring her borrowed ride.

Pulling up to the Needle, Max pulled the car around near the dumpsters in the back hoping that by leaving it semi-out of the way it will still be there when she came back down. Grabbing her bourbon and the ratty blanket covering the seat of the El Camino, she began the slow, painful process of dragging her bruised and battered body up the stairs to the observation deck.

It was only early evening, but the storm clouds were blanketing the sky black. Max thought with satisfaction that at least she'd be able to savor the horrifically bad mood she was now in. Worse than her throbbing ankle, smarting tailbone, or tender ribs was the strangely choked feeling Max had in her chest when she thought of the look on Alec's face as she'd left him lying on the floor after telling him she was done with him. She didn't understand why she should feel badly about what she'd said; after all he'd said some pretty nasty things himself in the heat of the fight. And she definitely didn't feel at all badly about having used his junk against him again. It may have been a dirty move, but a girl's gotta' do what a girl's gotta' do to win. And that dirty move had definitely been the only way she was going to win against Alec, she admitted with a snarl. Bastard's been holding out on me all this time, she thought as she slugged back another belt of the sweet whiskey, enjoying the burn as it distracted her momentarily from the pain elsewhere in her body.

Max brooded and pouted about Alec holding back on her in fights for a while longer, but by the time she'd finished her second bottle of bourbon she realized that on some level she'd known it all along. Not only did he have ten years of training and a significant amount of body mass on her, but all the times they'd fought in the past she'd either had help, fought dirty, or she'd won so quickly she should have realized that he let her. Now that she'd accepted the fact that Alec had always held back with her, Max was forced to move on to the next step in the equation and ask herself why. Not being particularly sure she wanted an answer to that question, Max temporarily distracted herself by reaching out to her stash, twisting the cap off her third bottle, and downing about a quarter of the contents in one go. Yeah for Manticore, Max thought, no gag reflex is just one more thing they got right in their genetically engineered killing machines.

She may not have a gag reflex, Max realized, but Alec had certainly choked in their fight when he'd seen the blood flow from her split lip. The holding back, the hesitancy to hurt her, Alec cared for her. Amused by the simplicity with which that realization came to her, Max found herself laughing uncontrollably, great guffawing belly laughs that had her gasping for breath and clutching the bottle. Once she finally had herself under control again, she slugged back another healthy portion of the bottle's contents and let the temporary burn numb her mind for another moment.

As her mind resurfaced she assessed her new situation. So Alec cared for her on some level; cared for her enough that he didn't want to hurt her. How deep the care went and what exactly it meant, Max had no idea. She figured Alec probably didn't either, and she thought she was pretty okay with leaving that whole can of worms unopened for now. After all she'd just finally managed to mostly kick Logan to the curb, she didn't want to even think about getting into it with anyone else yet.

At the thought of Logan she let out another snarl and slugged back more bourbon. What the hell was she going to do about that idiot and his refusal to leave TC? As her thoughts started to spiral down into despair over her failed relationship and the way in which she'd been blinded by Logan, Max sharply pulled herself up and slammed back another belt of bourbon to stop herself. First things first, she told herself. Finish thinking through the Alec and TC situation, then figure out the bitch of a Logan dealio.

So, Alec didn't want to hurt her, which meant he definitely didn't want to mutiny against her. Again on some level, Max realized, she'd know this all along too. While she wasn't pleased about the way Alec had gone about things, and definitely not that he'd done it in front of Logan, she realized that OC was right, what he'd done had been necessary to convince the rest of the transgenics to stay in TC. Besides everyone would know that she'd left him lying in a heap on the gym floor for his insubordination, so the problem should take care of itself really.

That still left the little matter of her having told Alec she was done with him, and the crushing blow she'd delivered to his balls. While she'd originally had herself convinced that she didn't feel badly about any of those things, tiny twinges of guilt were starting to make themselves known as she polished off her third bottle of bourbon in about an hour. She'd have to make it up to him somehow so he'd stay and help her with TC. She definitely needed his help, Max realized, after all he knew most of the transgenics in TC personally. Plus all his black market contacts were bound to come in handy with getting supplies into the besieged city.

Yeah, she needed Alec, but how to make it up to him without ruining the cred she'd just built up by leaving him in agony on the gym floor? Getting up to stretch her stiffening muscles, Max twisted the cap off her fourth bottle of bourbon and headed to the glassless window frame of the observation deck. Staring out into the storm, Max let her mind wander as she sipped on the sweet whiskey. With each burn down her throat another idea of how to make it up to Alec would float in and out of her head. After fifteen minutes or so, she finally grabbed onto what seemed like the best idea to float by. Max knew Alec's love of television, didn't understand it but knew it. Having found himself suddenly cooped up, she refused to think caged, in TC he wouldn't have his precious boob tube, so she'd get him the T.V. from his old apartment.

Yeah, she could drive the El Camino up to the edge of the Space Needle's sector, then sneak and creep into the next sector over where Alec's place was, grab his T.V. and maybe a bag of his clothes and hit the sewers to TC in the next sector over. She'd have to wait until morning, though, Max realized, as she currently wasn't in any shape to be schlepping anything anywhere. So she could forgive Alec for the mutiny bit and fucking up things with Logan because she'd mostly taken her frustration out with beating him, and Alec would forgive her when she got him his T.V. Okay, so one problem worked through, and it only took me four bottles of bourbon, Max thought with a snort.

That left her five bottles of bourbon to work through the Logan issue, she grimly hoped it was enough as she turned back inside the Needle and grabbed for her fifth bottle. It was midnight by the time Max finally tossed back the last of the bourbon and fell into a drunken slumber. X5 metabolism or not, nine bottles of bourbon was bound to knock a girl on her ass. Max had mostly managed to muddle her way through the Logan mess before passing out. She'd realized she'd been an idiot for never seeing that he was using her, that she'd been a fool for convincing herself that just because he hadn't run in fear from knowing what she was that he loved her, that she'd been desperate to have something meaningful in her life and had created a fairy tale out of Logan Cale. Having come to terms with all those realizations didn't really ease the hurt or her broken and betrayed heart all that much, but at least Max had finally been able to let go of the absurd hope she'd been holding onto of ever making something work with the ordinary. The last thought she had before she slipped off to sleep was that she was going to enjoy throwing Logan out of TC tomorrow.

Max woke around five. It wasn't quite dawn yet, but the storm clouds were starting to clear and the monsoon had tapered down to a steady drizzle. She could feel that she'd already half healed from her adventures with Alec the day before. Her ankle was still sore, but the swelling had gone down enough that she could walk on it without too much pain. Her ribs were still achy, but breathing was less labored. Her split lip and the cut on her head were scabbed over and would probably be gone by tonight. Her tailbone was still throbbing a bit, as was her head she realized, a bit amazed that she actually managed to give herself a tiny hangover. Hangover or not, though, if she didn't get back to TC soon Alec would really take command from her because he'd think she'd left them for good.

Gathering up the empty bottles of bourbon, Max made her way down the stairs to the dumpster she'd parked the El Camino behind. Hotwiring the car again, she headed for the border of the Needle's sector and the one where Alec's old place was. About an hour later, Max was making her way out of the guarded sewer entrance inside TC. Jade and Drake, the guards at the entrance, looked at her a bit strangely as they helped her hoist the T.V. and duffle bag out of the sewer, but wisely didn't say anything about the odd state of their leader. "I'm gonna' leave this stuff here with you guys for a minute while I go find Joshua," Max said before turning and ever so slightly limping her way to Joshua's apartment.

About twenty minutes later, Jade and Drake watched in equal bemusement as Max returned with the giant dog-man rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Again, however, neither of them said anything as Joshua hoisted the T.V. and duffle heading off toward Oak Street, while Max headed in the direction of command.

When Josh got to Alec's place he found him sprawled half on his sofa and half on his floor with three empty bottles of Mole's homemade brew lying around him. Crinkling his nose at the strong smell coming off Alec, Josh shook his head and roused Alec awake. Once Alec was awake enough to remember where he was and that Josh was not a threat he worked up enough brain cells to ask the big guy what he was doing there at the crack of dawn.

"Uh, Josh, what's up big guy?"

"Max ask Joshua to bring Alec's things," the big guy supplied pointing toward the T.V. and duffle bag he'd placed on Alec's kitchen counter.

Getting up and momentarily inspecting the television set and contents of the duffle, Alec turned around to meet the patient eyes of the giant dog-man. "What do you mean Max asked you to bring my things? Did you go get them?" Alec asked, clearly confused.

"No, Joshua not leave TC. Joshua sleeping and Max come and say she need his help. Max take Joshua to TC sewer entrance and ask Joshua to bring Alec's things." Joshua finished his explanation with a beaming smile, sure that he'd done well and that his little fella' would be pleased with him.

"Yeah, well thanks Josh. I just. . . I mean. . . did she say why?" Alec stumbled out, unable to wrap his pounding head around this strange turn of events.

"Little fella' not say, but Joshua could feel sorry coming off Max. Little fella' like medium fella', want you to be happy." Having delivered his earth shattering pronouncement like it was nothing more than "gee nice day isn't it," Joshua yawned and headed for the door leaving a bewildered but goofily smiling Alec behind him.

While Max had fully intended for his T.V. and clothes to be an apology, she really didn't want to have to deliver anything close to an "I'm sorry" to Alec in person. Bastard was probably already going to gloat for days as it was. She knew it may have been a teensy bit chickenshitted of her to ask Josh to deliver the items for her, but she told herself she had a good reason. She had an ordinary to get rid of after all.

Marching, as much as one can with a slight limp, into HQ, Max sauntered up to Mole who was just coming in for the early shift. "Mole," Max barked, "gonna' need your help tossing Logan out of TC, come on."

"Get rid of your own damn love monkey," was Mole's curt reply.

Rolling her eyes and heaving an exasperated sigh, Max turned back to the lizard man. "Look I want him out of TC, but I don't want him dead, and given the whole virus dealio that means I'm going to require some assistance tossing his ass, so you in or out?" she asked with an arch of her eyebrow.

Noting the challenge in that arched brow, Mole didn't have to think on it too long before he decided throwing the pretentious Ordinary out of TC would be a damn fine way to start his day. Grunting his assent, Mole followed as Max led the way out of HQ.

Alec was still standing staring at his re-appropriated television when he heard a ruckus from the street, and went over to look out the window of his apartment. He had to do a double take and give his eyes a good rub to make sure it wasn't the booze making him hallucinate, but nope the sight before him was real. And what a sight it was. Mole was striding toward the sewer entrance out of TC with a flailing, screaming, red faced Logan tossed over his shoulder. The lizard man was sporting a grin so wide Alec was fairly sure there'd be cracks in Mole's scales later. But the best part of the scene was Max, confidently striding in front of Mole, head held high with the rising sun glinting off her long hair, not paying one bit of attention to the struggling Ordinary behind her as she led the little procession out of TC. Just as they were about to turn the corner, Max whipped her head around and looked up to Alec's window flashing him a quick grin. Once they had disappeared from sight, Alec headed toward his bathroom hoping a shower might make him feel a bit more human, he was really going to have to remember to congratulate Mole on the rotgut. His last thought before he let the stream of water quiet his brain for a moment was that with the sun shining through a mostly cloud free sky today would not be the kind of day that

lets you savor a bad mood, but that was just fine with Alec.


End file.
